Switch.



J., T. B'EECHLYN.

swlrcn.

APPLICATION FILED DECL4, |915.

Patented July 25,1916.

2 sains-SHEET 1 lll...

l Il Il.

J. T. BEECHLYN.

swlTcH.

" APPLICATION FILD DEC. 4. 1915.

` Patented July 25,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Inventor? John "DE echly @Y MQ@ .lbby.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

JOHN T..BEECHLYN, F LYNN, NIASSACHSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SWITCH.

Specication of Letters Patent. I, Patented July 25, 1916.

Application led Decemberfi, 1915.I Serial No. 65,117.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. BEEGHLYN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have 'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to switchesI for household lighting and other purposes, and it is more especially concerned with causing actual movement of the switch proper to be delayed more or less after the action'of the operator` to bring it about. This result can be obtained by opposing a` gradually yielding resistance to movement of the actuating member or device of the switch mechanism proper and at the same time providing an l additional actuating member or device `and means initially controlled thereby for exerting on the first actuating member an automatically sustained force such as will gradually overcome the aforesaid resistance and bring about the desired movement of the switch. By arranging that an actuating force shall be thus imposed and resisted only when the switch is to be opened, it is possible to have the closing ofthe switch take place in the ordinary undelayed manner, which is generally more convenient than a delayed closing.

I have herein illustrated and described mechanism embodyingmy ,invention as applied to a quarter-turn rotary snap switch. While, however, this mechanism is the best for my pur ose at present yknown to me, and while the invention extends to its specific features and details of operation and construction and combinations and'v arrangements of parts, yet the invention ,is not confined thereto,its scope being indicated 1n my claims.

In the accompanylng drawing, Figure 1k operatingparts, some of them being disschematic view ofthe principalv right of a plane of section indicated by the line 7--7 in Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a view from i the right of a. plane of section indicated by the line 8 8 in Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 5, but illusby means of screws, and the usual exterior' front plate is similarly secured to the plate 12. An opening 13 in the front plate gives a view of the on 'and off signs of an indicator disk 14 which is secured tothe rear end of a metal sleeve 15 molded or otherwise secured in` the operating handle 16. The handle` 16 is secured to the disk-like metal actuating member 17 (by whose movement the whole switch device is controlled) by means of springy axially extending lugs 18 that engage in shallow internal grooves 19 in said sleeve 15.

Referring to the switch mechanism proper, it will be seen from Figs. 1, 2, 3 and .trating a modification. Fig-'10 is a fragv 4 that there is a rotary shaft 20 having an ythecasing by pins that extend into holes in a metal plate 23 riveted in place bythe sleeve 21 and engaged with said rear wall so that it cannot turn. Loose on the shaft 20 is a metal switch plate 24 having/its side edges bent to form a guideway at its rear side, and-in this guideway slides a fiat catch 25 having a rearward projection 26 for engaging the teeth of the ratchet ,disk 22.- On the front of the switch plate 24 is insulatively mounted the switch proper, consisting of blades or pole-pieces27 for engaging contacts 28 which are= secured in the casing 11 in any approvedA manner land provided with binding screws29 for the connection of the current leads. As the particular switch supported pole-pieces (and corresponding contacts) arranged 90 apart. A cam or eccentric 30 secured to the shaft 20 so as to turn withit works in a transverse slot in the 1g catch 25 and acts to move said catch crosswise of the shaft. The switch plate 24 is operatively connected to the shaft 20 by means of a left-hand helical spring 31 coiled V ',Referring, now, to Figs. 3, 5, 6 and 7 it lwill'be seen 'that the actuating member 17 about said shaft and having its ends secured to a lug 32 on said switch plate 'and inv 'a notch 33 in a disk member 34 which is itself*- keyed fast to said shaft. The shaft (with the disk 34) lconstitutes the direct actuating member of the quarter turn rotary lsnap .2o. switch mechanism just described; 'for by turningit clockwise 90 at a time the switch will be stepped around with a quick vmove?` 'z ment 90 at a time, in a readily understood manner, alternately'opening and closing; the '25.' circuit. Referring, now, to Figs. 2, 3, 4 and5,it 'will be seenthat the means shown for op- .posing a gradually yielding resistance toA movement' of the actuating member 20 com- .'.801 prises a dash-pot device and a sort of lost' l `motion .connection therefrom -to the shaft.

- The dashpot device comprises a pair of pisy tons or plungers 35 and working inflanged metal-*cylinders 36 which are 'mountedinfV 3 5 trough-like recesses at the rear side 'of-the casing structure'll with their anges in' grooves in the trough walls and are held in place and prevented from turning by afmetalback-plate secured to said casing structure The lost motion connectioncomprises a crank 37 fast on the rear end of *f4-0l by rods 11.

the shaft 20 and a she'et metal yoke piece 38 in whose peculiar shaped opening works the flat crank pin 39. The yoke 38 is free to Y "`reciprocate with the pistons 35,'and its lateral projections slide against ways on 'the-` casin structure which keep it from turning -out o the plane in which it is shown.

. From Figs. 4 and 5 it Willbeseen that when the shaft 20 and crank 37 revolve as indicated 'by the arrows p (z'. e., clockwise) from the dotted line position of Fi 4 (which corresponds to the full line position` of Fig. 5), the-crank pin- 39 willturniabout .90 against the curved upperjedge.ofthe.-

opening in the yoke 38 without moving' the yoke or the dash-pot pistons 35; that thenv said crank pin will engage the loweredge of the yoke notch 4.1 and gradually.- force- 6 the yoke downward against the resistance of the pistons, this action lasting about 90 more; that when the yoke 38 has thus been forced down far enough the crank-pin 39 will override the lower corner of said notch 6'5 41 and travel the next 90 against the lower vf'saidsprin'g 45 has beenk suiciently stressed. This spring and ratchet mechanism serves V as a means for exerting and imposing on the yactuating member 20 an. automatically sus- .the snap switch mechanism, jand that the periods of resisted movement concur with opening actuations of the switch mechanism, so that only the opening will be delayed aftebx the action of the operator that brings it a utf already referred to is operatively connected to the shaft-actuating member 20 of the switch-.mechanism proper by means of a left- Ahand helical spring 45, coiled about the shaft 'and having one end secured in the a5 notch'33 of the disk 34 and the other in a hole 47 in the central disk portion of said member 17. Around the spring 45 is a jsleeve" or barrel 50 which has at its forward .end Atongues 51 that engage in peripheral Vnotches 52'in the disk portion of said actuat- E--ing'member 17 and at its rear end a flange .'.55xthat is peripherally shouldered so as to fact as a four toothed ratchet; and at the rear side' of the plate 12 (between which and the 95 disk 34 the ratchet flangelies) is pivoted a spring-pressed pawl 56 for engaging the hratchet 55 to prevent -reverse movement of said member 16 by said spring 45 when once tained force such as will ultimately cause operation of the -switch mechanism, as will be fully explained. In order that the spring 45 may be tensioned without turning the actuating member 20, a lost motion connection vvbetween the actuating members 17 and 20 Yis, provided,'-that shown, comprising a disk- 1l. like piece`57 securedon the tapped and flattened end ofthe shaft20 by a'screw 58 and "having peripheral lugs 59 that engage the 1 tongues 51l of the' sleeve 50, asshown in Fig.

6 and so serve to maintain the spring 45 vun- 115 der .suitable initial tension.

When .the actuating member 117 is turned clockwise one ratchet tooth (90?):.by'means oflthev handle 16,^tl1el spring means y45 is stressed or wound up so as to exert' on the 139 actuating'member 20 a force tending to turn said actuating member. clockwise sonas to` cause operation of the switchproper. If the switch should at this time be open. the stress so produced in the spring 45 will be freely transmitted to the sprin 31 and im- .mediatelf equalized between t ese springs,

and the switch mechanism roper will be caused to operate almost as t ough the handle 16 `were directly secured to its actuating 1" member 20; but if the switch should be4 closed, the stress will be maintained in the springl 45 by means of the ratchet mechanisrn 55, 56, and the relative immovability of member 20. The spring will thus be kept in action while the dash-pot resistance is being gradually overcome and spring 31 gradually tensioned until the shaft 20 has moved to the point of operating the release device 22, 25 of the switch mechanism proper. As a result, the opening of the switch willbe delayed over a period determined by the relative characteristics and adjustment of the springs 31 and 45 and the dash-pot device, etc.

It will be seen that my switch device is for many purposes adapted toreplace the twoswitch three-way arrangement commonly used when the light is to be turned on at one point or fioor when entering a room or a hallway and turned olf at another point or floor when leaving it, for it allows one to actuate the switch to extinguish the light and then traverse and leave the room or stairway before the extinguishment occurs.

In order to prevent a careless person from leaving the lights burning behind him, however, the switch above described may be modified as shown in Fig. 9. As here shown,

the ratchet element 65 (corresponding to the ratchet 55) has just two teeth 66 and 67 (the latter wider than the former) for coperatlng member 17 is turned 180 degrees eachtime instead of 90 so .as to stress the spring 45 for first closing and then opening the switch. To insure that it shall be operated 'in this way, provision is made for preventing operation of the actuating shaft member 20 until a full 180 degree turn has been given the actuating member 17. For this purposethe plate 72 (corresponding to the plate 12) is provided with a double toothed ratchet iange 7.3, and a coperating outwardly acting spring actuated pawl 76 is pivoted to the one armed part ,84 (corresponding to the disk 34). This ypawl 76 is so located that the narrow ratchet tooth 66 passes to one side of it, but that the wide tooth 67 of the ratchet 65 acts on its inner end as` a releasing cam,-the design and adjustment being such that the release occurs each time just after a tooth of said ratchet 65 has tripp'dlpast its pawl 56. In order that the actuating" member 17 may turn 180 degrees relative to the shaft 20, the part 87 (corresponding to the part 57) is made with but a single lug 89 (corresponding to the lug 59), 91 (corresponding to a tongue 51) is made long enough to project past the disk portion of the actuating member 17 into its path.

What I claim as new and desire to secure b y1. A switch device comprising a switch mechanism having an actuating member,

with the pawl 56, and the actuating and only a single tonguey Letters Patent of the United States, is,-l

means opposing'a gradually yielding resistance to movement of said member to actuate said switch mechanism, an additional actuating member, and means controlled by said latter actuating member for exerting and imposing upon said first-mentioned actuating movement of said member to cause closing.

thereof, an additional actuating member and `means controlled thereby for exerting on said first-mentioned actuating member force sutlicient to gradually overcome the aforesaid resistance and move said first-mentioned member, and means for maintaining said latter means in action when once rendered capable of causing ultimate opening of the switch.

3. A switch device comprising a switch mechanism having an actuating member, means opposing a gradually yielding resistance to movement of said member to actuate said switch mechanism, an additional actuating member and a spring connection therefrom to said first-mentioned actuating member adapted when stressed gradually to overcome the aforesaidresistance and move said rst-mentioned actuating member, and means for preventing reverse movement of said additional actuating member by said spring connection.

4. A switch device comprising a snap switch mechanism having a rotary actuating member, means opposing a gradually yielding resistance to movement of said member to actuate said switch mechanism, an additional rotary actuating member and a spring connection therefrom to said first-mentioned actuating member adapted when stressed gradually to overcome the aforesaid resistance and rotate said first-mentioned actuating member, and ratchet mechanism for preventing reverse movement o said additional actuating member by said spring connection when the latter has been stressed suliiciently to cause ultimate operation of said switch mechanism.

5. A switch device comprising a snap switch mechanism having a rotary actuatditional rotary actuating member and a spring connection therefrom to said firstmentioned member adapted when stressed to overcome the dash-pot resistance and rotate said first-mentioned actuating member so as to stress the aforesaid actuating spring, and ratchet mechanism for preventing reverse movement of said additional actuating mem- JOHN T.'BEECHLYN. 

